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Young Boy and Grey Hair

Q: Hi. I have a question, my son is only 13 and I found about 6 grey hairs in a patch on his head. Do I have to worry about
him being so young and having grey hair already?

A: Well, there are a lot of reasons that the hair might turn gray. With more than 100,000 hairs on the average personís head, finding
six hairs that are un-pigmented could simply be an aberration with a normal cause. Sometimes, illness, hormonal changes, dietary
deficiencies or changes, or stress can be the cause of graying hair.

If your son is showing any other symptoms of illness you may
want to take him to visit his doctor and talk about possible causes. However, unless there are other signs of poor health, poor
diet or undue stress, you probably have no reason to be overly concerned. This could simply be a matter of his genetics, or possibly
simply a side-effect of hormonal changes caused by puberty.

If it is any comfort, I will tell you that I knew a boy when I was younger who had a few gray
hairs show up when he was around 10. The hairs were later shed in the normal course of hair growth, and the new hairs grew in the
same color as the other hairs of his head.

I am not a medical professional, and I wonít tell you that thereís nothing to be concerned
over, because I donít have the medical expertise or authority to make a diagnosis, or dismissal of a symptom. However, I wouldnít go
overboard with worry unless the gray hair becomes more prevalent or you notice other symptoms that indicate there could be a medical problem.